$350 to hang ceiling sheetrock?

Question

Same problem as I had before, but I've decided I can't do this repair myself after all and need to hire it out. I tried Craigslist for day laborers, but no luck on anyone who seemed sane, not too creepy, and decent.

I need 2 drywall sheets installed on a 10 foot ceiling. He will bring his own scaffold. This is a licensed and insured guy referred to us by people we know.

$350 was this guy's estimate. Is this normal?

It's no texturing and no painting.

Just hanging the drywall and taping.

Would you pay $350 for hanging 2 sheets of drywall?

An uninsured Craigslist guy said he could hang the drywall, paint, and texture for $450-$500.

Randy F. · Answer

No. The advantages of hot mud are that it shrinks very little as it sets and that it is much harder/stronger than all purpose mud. It does set very quickly but it takes many hours to dry. Another drawback to hot mud is that its hardness makes sanding difficult. When it is set, yet still has moisture in it, it can be scraped to smooth so that top coats go on nicely. I just dont see any scenario where he could get the entire job done in one day. At the least, he would have to come back the next day to sand. I have dont patch jobs and used a heat gun to drive moisture out so it could be finished same day, but I cant see that working on that much area. If he uses hot mud and he's good, he could get it in tape and one top coat, but hot mud doesnt feather well and it would require knockdown or heavier texture to hide. And that applies only if there are no butt joints, which require floating out further than do the tape bed joints. It doesnt sound like you know what texture you are using, so he should be finishing it to accomodate even a light orange peel. Cant do that in one day.

Rob K. · Answer

For a small job like this, I like to run an ad on CL under "gigs". You can post pics and just use your email. They can send you email quotes. On Monday, I posted an ad for a porch repair with pics. I received about 15 quotes. They ranged from $150-$800. I went with a guy for $150. He did the job in about two hours and probably only had about $20 in materials. He did have a nice concrete saw which probably cost a bundle. The range of bids always amazes me.

Scott W. · Answer

i agree. another thing you can try & do is pay a handyman by the hour & offer to help him with everything like helping him hold up the drywall, including running back & forth in case he needs anything else. i do this all the time and it saves $. i'm basically the gopher.

Jon Holdman · Answer

I just installed five sheets of drywall on a bathroom ceiling. Only eight feet high, and I did get a hand from the Mrs. at a few points. But mostly just by myself without a lift. A lift (not scaffolding) would have made it trivial. An experienced (and stronger) person could easily do this by them self without a lift. If I had a lift, I would have used it. But I was too cheap to go rent one for this small job. What kind of texture are you talking about? Some, like Spanish knife, swirl or slapbrush do involve putting on a coating of mud then doing the texturing. Others, like knockdown or orange peel use a hopper gun to spray on the texture. You need a compressor for the hopper gun. They do make spray cans that can do these spray textures, but they're too expensive for two full sheets. Will the new stuff be level with the old? If its the same thickness and both edges are secured, they should be close. The sides of a sheet of drywall are slightly tapered. This is so when you put two sheets next to each other, you can tape and mud and end up with an even wall. OTOH, the ends and any cut edges are the full thickness. Those joints require a wider swath of mud to get a smooth joint and even then the joint will be thicker than the field. So, its likely there will be some jog between the new drywall and the old. You may be able to scrape some of the mud off the old to try to get it closer. But you will probably have to give it a pretty good coat of mud to make it nice. If the thickness is different, all bets are off. I ended up completely redoing that bath ceiling because the old stuff was 3/8's and I didn't want to use such think stuff. Otherwise I would have only replaced part of it. I did end up with a joint between the new 1/2 and the old 3/8 in a hallway, otherwise I would have had to redo a much larger room next to the hall. I've not mudded it yet (need drywall screw inspection first) but I know I will have a mess. I'm hoping that because of its location in the hallway it won't be too noticeable. Depending on how it works out, it may need a pretty heavy texture to make it look OK.

Mike H. · Answer

That seems a bit high. Do they really need to bring scaffolding? Can you find a duo that can do it without the scaffolding. I understand that the pricing goes up a bit when you're doing a small amount of work. But at what point is it just plain ripping people off? If you paid 500 to do two sheets on the ceiling, what would the cost of drywalling an entire house be? 50,000? Not to mention the fact that certain trades just don't pay that much per hour. Drywalling is not a $50 and hour trade. Neither is painting. Just because someone wants to earn that as a painter doesn't mean thats what you should pay. Its about supply and demand and how difficult it is for people to qualify at that trade. I tell my handyman all the time. I'm not paying him $50/hr for cleanup. He needs to have a laborer that he's paying 15/hr and I'll pay him 20/hr to do that kind of stuff. I want everybody to make a living. But most trades have pretty set rates for things. And I like to stay in that range.

Jon K. · Answer

Cool. I do think it's fairly reasonable as it includes supplies. I guess I was hoping more like $250-300. Or $400 hung, taped, textured, and painted. But, I am really cheap. This is definitely the cheapest quote I've gotten so far, though I don't subscribe to Angie's List. I guess $50 in supplies would leave $300 for labor.... 6 hours at $50 an hour. I'm not sure how many hours he plans to work. Would most guys take 5-6 hours on something like this? I've never seen it done. It'll be cool to watch.

Jon K. · Answer

Thanks. This guy is coming alone with a scaffold. I really should ask how he plans to do this alone... I think he has a drywall lifter. He is hanging, taping, and sanding. He needs to cut out a few inches of existing drywall to fit in the new sheets. Not much demo, but a few inches of it. He thinks he can do it all in one day-- if he hot sets it, could he really sand within hours and it look ok? I'm texturing and painting myself later on. This is probably the dumbest question ever, but would a new sheet of drywall be "even" with the existing drywall? If you're texturing a wall, do you coat the entire thing with mudd first? I've texturing a little (Towel Throwdown style) but only to existing sheets.

Phillip Cailey · Answer

Sounds somewhat reasonable. You might try Angie's List to find a good handyman that could come in cheaper. I use to charge $40.00 an hour for that type of work. depending on coming back to apply additional coats of mud and sanding, just doesn't sound that far off.

Randy F. · Answer

Question: Is there any demo involved? What kind of texture is going on it, and did your contractor inquire about that? If there is no demo, and all he has to do is show up with another guy and hang and tape... Id say thats a bit high. $300 is more like it. Nobody in their right mind would set up scaffold for two sheets on a ten foot ceiling. They'll hang it with a couple six or eight foot step ladders. If its orange peel, they'll need to tape it, then come back and float it once minimum if they bedded with hot mud and likely twice. Then are they sanding it out before texture or are you? If they are hanging AND doing a complete tape & finish job, you got it cheap at $350. It isnt difficult by any stretch, but two guys to hang, and multiple trips for one guy who'll drop off the floor, mudsling, and clean-up, multiple times... It eats up a contractors time. I know guys that charge $350 minimum for drywall patching, even if its for one doorknob hole, so dont feel bad!! :c)

Jon K. · Answer

That makes sense. I guess setting up and him missing out on a full day's worth elsewhere makes $350 reasonable. I guess I was hoping I could get it textured and painted included for that , but I'm just being way too cheap. I think I can at least texture and paint myself. Then $350 plus a bucket of primer, paint, drywall mud, and drywall tool might run maybe $60. $400ish for a repair like this with an insurance and reputable guy really is pretty good. It does take skill and manual labor, neither of which I'm good at. I think "this is $40 in drywall and supplies or less" and think of the price I'm paying for labor. But, it's a skill I don't have, and it really is fair. The guy does have to set up all his tools for a few hours of a job. I wish I had handyman skills... useful and good money in it too.